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Flames Sign Zayne Parekh, Two Others To Entry-Level Deals

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The Flames have simultaneously signed a trio of prospects to three-year, entry-level contracts, including 2024 ninth-overall pick Zayne Parekh (as relayed by Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson). Right winger Matvei Gridin, who they took with the 28th overall pick last week, and 2023 second-rounder Étienne Morin also signed their rookie deals.

Parekh, 18, stands the greatest chance out of the trio to be on the opening night roster in October, although it would still be a surprise. The right-shot defenseman has arguably the highest offensive ceiling of any blue liner in this year’s class, even ahead of the Blackhawks’ second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. He was electric for the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit last season, leading them across the board with 33 goals, 63 assists and 96 points in 66 games with a +39 rating. It would be an impressive feat for any draft-eligible skater, but especially from the back end.

He went a bit later than most people expected him to go, too, so there’s a fair bit of steal potential with the pick. Elite Prospects ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in the class, while TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts yielded him at No. 8. He was the third defenseman off the board after Chicago took Levshunov and the Senators selected Carter Yakemchuk.

If Parekh does make the NHL squad out of camp, it’ll likely be on a nine-game trial to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level deal. At such a young age, another year with Saginaw would be beneficial to round out his two-way game. His ELC is eligible to slide twice, and he won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment until 2026-27.

The 18-year-old Gridin also put pen to paper on his ELC, confirming he won’t be attending the University of Michigan in the fall as previously expected. Instead, the Flames will loan him to his junior club. The QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs took him first overall in the CHL Import Draft later this week, but they’re expected to deal him to the Rimouski Océanic before training camp begins, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reports. That would mean he’d play in the 2025 Memorial Cup, with Rimouski hosting the event. Only a few scouting sites pegged him as a late first-round pick – many more had him going in the second round. He was ranked 37th in McKenzie’s year-end polling. Gridin, a native of Kurgan, Russia, had 38 goals and 83 points in 60 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL last season.

Morin, 19, is a left-shot defenseman who went 48th overall in the 2023 draft. He’s a physically involved two-way threat who had a bit of a step back in his post-draft season, posting 12 goals and 37 assists for 49 points with a -9 rating in 58 games for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He’d posted better offensive and defensive results the year prior, with 72 points in 67 games with a +29 rating. Calgary is expected to loan Morin back to Moncton for his final season of junior hockey this season, sliding the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26.

Kraken, Eeli Tolvanen Agree To Two-Year Deal

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Minutes after signing top prospect Berkly Catton to his entry-level contract, the Kraken have also come to terms with RFA winger Eeli Tolvanen on a two-year deal, the team’s Alison Lukan relays. It carries a $3.475MM cap hit, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Tolvanen sticks around in Seattle after heading to the Pacific Northwest a year and a half ago, picked up off waivers from the Predators. The winger, who was a late first-round pick of Nashville in 2017, finally broke into a consistent top-nine role with the Kraken. The 25-year-old has been an effective producer while averaging around 15 minutes per contest, putting up 0.53 points per game since his acquisition.

But after setting a career-high with 18 goals split between the Kraken and Preds in 2022-23, Tolvanen took a small step back this past season. He was still good for 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games, but he checked in a tad below expectations given he scored 16 goals in only 48 games after the move to Seattle the year prior.

His possession metrics were a bit of a toss-up, too. Seattle controlled 50.8% of shot attempts and 50.3% of expected goals with Tolvanen on the ice at even strength, both checking in just below team averages. He was among their most physical players, though. His 210 hits were second on the team only to rookie Tye Kartye (229).

Even if he didn’t have the 20-plus goals Seattle was hoping for last year, Tolvanen has fully solidified himself as an everyday contributor with some upward mobility. That earns him a fair-value bridge deal that comes in shorter and cheaper than what Evolving-Hockey had outlined in their projections (four years, $4.345MM AAV).

With Tolvanen signed, top center Matthew Beniers is the only notable RFA that general manager Ron Francis still needs to sign this summer. They’ll have around $8.15MM in cap space to do so after today’s signing, which could be a tight squeeze. After giving out big money in free agency to Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson, that suggests a bridge deal for Beniers could be likely too. Notably, Beniers isn’t eligible for salary arbitration.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken Sign Berkly Catton To Entry-Level Deal

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The Kraken have signed center Berkly Catton to his three-year, entry-level contract, a team announcement states. Catton was the eighth overall selection in the draft one week ago. His deal carries the maximum ELC cap hit of $975K.

He’s the second player from the class to sign his rookie deal, joining Blues defenseman Adam Jiříček, who they took 16th overall. While it’s unlikely Catton will crack the NHL roster in the fall, signing him to his ELC now at least affords him the option. Catton also earns a $97.5K signing bonus with today’s news, per PuckPedia. The deal is also broken down into $877.5K of base salary annually and up to $1MM in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses on a yearly basis.

Catton is already used to Washington State, suiting up for the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League for parts of the last three seasons. The 5’11”, 174-lb pivot led all WHL draft-eligibles in scoring last season, finishing fourth in the league with 116 points (54 goals, 62 assists) in 68 games. He’s one of the 2024 class’ fastest players and is an extremely well-rounded offensive talent, although there are some natural concerns about his lack of physicality and strength against larger opponents.

Since his 20th birthday doesn’t fall until January 2026, Catton won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25 or 2025-26 – he needs to be returned to his junior team. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in each of those seasons, his contract could slide to as late as 2026-27 before kicking in. His signing bonuses are paid out regardless, though, slightly lowering the cap hit of his deal.

AHL’s Charlotte Checkers Sign Aidan McDonough

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The AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ top affiliate, have picked up left winger Aidan McDonough on a one-year deal, a team release states. McDonough will now try and work his way back up the professional ladder after being non-tendered by the Canucks last week.

Just a couple of years ago, McDonough looked to be a seventh-round steal for Vancouver. After selecting him in 2019, McDonough had a spectacular collegiate career at Northeastern that saw him produce 66 goals and 124 points in 124 games across four seasons while assuming the captaincy in his final season. He signed his entry-level deal to close the 2022-23 season and immediately made his NHL debut with the Nucks, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating in six games while averaging 9:19 per contest.

But this past season was a tough one for the 6’2″, 201-lb winger. He didn’t crack the Canucks’ roster out of camp and was assigned to AHL Abbotsford, where he remained the entire campaign. His offensive numbers on the farm weren’t up to expectations, limited to only 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. It was enough of a letdown that Vancouver’s front office decided they’d seen enough of the prospect, deciding not to issue him a qualifying offer and let the 24-year-old reach the UFA market early.

Now, it’s up to McDonough to produce well on his minor-league deal. While he’s playing in the Panthers organization, Florida doesn’t acquire his signing rights with this move, and he can still sign with any NHL club.

SHL’s HV71 Signs Tanner Kero

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HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League has signed forward Tanner Kero, according to a team release. Kero wasn’t signed to an NHL contract in 2023-24 but did spend the season in the Avalanche organization on an AHL deal with the Colorado Eagles.

Kero is a veteran of five NHL seasons between 2015-16 and 2021-22, playing 134 games and scoring 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points with a +9 rating. Most of that time came on the right wing, but he did log significant time at center in his first couple of campaigns in a depth role for the Blackhawks.

An undrafted free agent signing by Chicago out of Michigan Tech in 2015, Kero has long been a consistent AHL scoring presence but has only challenged for full-time NHL usage on a handful of occasions. After appearing in three straight campaigns with Chicago to begin his professional career, he spent the entire season in the minors after being traded to the Canucks in 2018 and again after signing with the Stars as a free agent in 2019.

But the pandemic yielded some opportunity for Kero, who avoided minor-league assignment entirely in 2020-21 and instead spent the campaign on the NHL roster or the taxi squad. He was extremely serviceable in a fourth-line role for Dallas that year, posting three goals and 10 points in 39 games, outmatched only by his 16-point, 47-game campaign with Chicago in 2016-17. But he struggled to have the same effect the following season, going without a goal and logging just three assists with a -5 rating in 23 games. That’s the last we’ve likely seen of Kero in the NHL.

Kero will now test international waters for the first time in his career with the Jönköping-based HV71, who narrowly avoided relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan last season after finishing 13th in the SHL with a 13-30-5-4 record. His 106 goals and 274 points in 402 career AHL games suggest he should have success in Sweden in a middle-six role. It’s a one-year deal, so an exceptionally strong showing for Kero, who turns 32 later this month, could lead to an NHL return.

Utah Signs Jaxson Stauber To Two-Way Deal

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The Utah Hockey Club has signed goaltender Jaxson Stauber to a two-way contract, per a team announcement. He’ll participate in Utah’s first-ever training camp after being non-tendered by the Blackhawks last week.

Stauber’s NHL résumé consists of six games with Chicago in the 2022-23 season. He spent all of last year on assignment to AHL Rockford, where he had a .902 SV%, 2.85 GAA, two shutouts and an 18-8-3 record in 31 games.

An undrafted free agent signing by the Hawks out of Providence College in 2022, the 25-year-old Stauber has been largely solid since turning pro but didn’t have much of a future in Chicago with the younger, higher-ceiling trio of Drew Commesso, Adam Gajan and Arvid Söderblom also in the mix. He fared well in his limited NHL stint with the Hawks, posting a 5-1-0 record with a .911 SV% and 2.81 GAA.

Utah already has their NHL goaltending tandem set with Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka. That means Stauber is likely destined for waivers during training camp en route to beginning the season with AHL Tucson, where he’ll split duties with Matt Villalta, who’s signed through 2025-26.

They also have 21-year-old UDFA signing Anson Thornton under contract, but injuries limited him to just 13 combined AHL and ECHL games last season, and he didn’t perform well at either level. He needs more seasoning, and Utah will find a home for him in the low-level minors. Stauber thus serves as a one-year bridge with Villalta until Thornton or one of their high-end goalie prospects, Michael Hrabal and Rasmus Korhonen, sign their ELCs.

Oilers, Evan Bouchard Unlikely To Talk Extension This Summer

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The Oilers aren’t likely to hold extension discussions with star defenseman Evan Bouchard this offseason, sources tell The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman. Bouchard is set to be an RFA with arbitration rights next summer as he’s entering the back half of a two-year, $7.8MM bridge deal.

Last season, Bouchard’s $3.9MM cap hit was arguably the most value-laden deal in the league, not including entry-level contracts. Bouchard came in fifth in Norris Trophy voting after posting 18 goals, 64 assists, 82 points and a +34 rating – all career-highs – in 81 games. The right-shot blue liner proceeded to have a record-breaking postseason, setting a new single-playoff high in assists (26) to beat out former Oilers defenseman and current assistant coach Paul Coffey’s record, set in 1985. His +14 rating also led all skaters in the postseason as Edmonton advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final since 2006.

There’s little to dislike about Bouchard’s game as he fully hits his stride entering his age-25 season, even if he is prone to the occasional extremely visible one-on-one defensive lapse. His possession numbers, while already strong, flourished last year with a full season of Mattias Ekholm as his partner. The duo was arguably the best pairing in the league, controlling a mind-blowing 62.8% of expected goals through nearly 1,200 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.

Bouchard hasn’t had any significant health issues since reaching the NHL full-time, either. He’s only missed two games over the past three seasons.

With all that in mind, Bouchard projects to be the best defender to hit RFA status next summer, leading a group that includes Noah Dobson, Brock Faber and Luke Hughes, who should all get paid handsomely. It’s hard to imagine Bouchard landing anything other than a max-term eight-year deal, something the Oilers would surely find desirable with him being two years away from UFA eligibility when his current deal expires. Evolving-Hockey projects a $9.5MM cap hit on such an extension, a higher AAV than the long-term deal Cale Makar signed three years ago but a lower percentage of the salary cap. But if he builds on last season’s performance, Edmonton runs the risk of needing to shell out more cash to keep him around long-term by not getting an extension done now.

While a new GM will be handling Bouchard’s negotiations after Ken Holland’s contract wasn’t renewed, the Oilers have issued eight-year deals to almost all of their core players in the Connor McDavid era. McDavid himself, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse are all currently on max-term deals.

After an extremely active July 1 that saw the Oilers bring in Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner while retaining UFAs Connor Brown, Adam Henrique and Mattias Janmark, the major legwork is over for acting GM Jeff Jackson. His main responsibility is now finding Holland’s successor, an item that could be checked off next week. Reports earlier this week indicated they have interest in former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, who the NHL deemed eligible to work in the league earlier this week after being barred for over two years “as a result of [his] inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks’ Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club’s video coach.” That announcement could come as early as next Wednesday.

Hockey Canada Names Coaching Staff For 2025 World Juniors

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Hockey Canada announced yesterday its full coaching staff for its national junior team ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, in which they’ll attempt to medal on home soil. The tournament is back in the Canadian capital this/next year, as Ottawa hosts it for the first time since 2009.

Back at the helm for the third time is former Senators head coach Dave Cameron. He’s gotten the Canadians to the gold medal game in both of his opportunities behind the bench thus far (2011, 2022), losing 5-3 to Russia the first time around but redeeming himself with a 3-2 overtime win over Finland 11 years later after the tournament was rescheduled to August due to COVID-19.

Cameron’s other high-level national team experience includes serving as an assistant coach for the 2016 World Championship and serving as an assistant at the WJC in 2009 and 2010. In league play, he’s spent the last three years as head coach of the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League, where he’s accumulated a 115-67-22 record and made the postseason each time.

He’ll have three assistants, the first of which is Sylvain Favreau, who’s coming off his first season as head coach of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. He guided the Voltigeurs to a QMJHL championship, their first since 2009, and also won a gold medal as an assistant coach for Canada’s U18 club at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

Joining Favreau is Mike Johnston, who’s served as the general manager and head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks on and off since 2008. Penguins fans will remember him for his brief stint behind their bench in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns – he was fired in December 2015 and promptly replaced by Mike Sullivan, who led Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cups. It’s Johnston’s first call-up to the national team since 2009 when he served as Canada’s head coach at the U18 World Juniors. He was previously a national team fixture as GM, assistant coach, and head coach at various World Championship, World Cup and Olympic events in the 1990s.

The final assistant is Chris Lazary, who’ll serve behind the bench of the national team for the first time at any level with the upcoming tournament. The 42-year-old just coached the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit to a Memorial Cup as the host city, taking down the OHL champion London Knights 4-3 in the championship game after the Knights bounced them in the league’s Western Conference Final. He’s been the Spirit’s bench boss since being promoted from associate coach on Nov. 18, 2018.

Nikita Gusev Seeking NHL Return

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Earlier this week, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now relayed (Twitter link) that veteran winger Nikita Gusev was on the ice at the Devils’ development camp.  That wasn’t necessarily just a random alumnus popping by, however, as Championat’s Dmitry Storozhev relays that Gusev is hoping to return to the NHL for next season.

The 31-year-old previously spent two years at the top level, one going much better than the other.  In his first year back in 2019-20 with New Jersey after being acquired from Vegas, Gusev did relatively well, putting up 13 goals and 31 assists in 66 games while logging a little under 15 minutes a night of ice time.  However, things went off the rails the following season as he picked up just two goals and three assists in 20 games before eventually having his contract terminated by the Devils late in the season.  From there, he signed with Florida, adding five more points in 11 games down the stretch.

But after not getting a strong market in free agency, Gusev eventually decided to return to the KHL for the 2021-22 campaign, signing with SKA St. Petersburg.  He produced a little over a point per game in his two seasons with them before moving to Dynamo Moscow for the 2023-24 campaign after having his contract with SKA terminated.

Gusev had a resurgent season with them, leading the league in assists (66) and points (89) while playing in all 68 games.  He then followed that up with ten points in nine postseason contests.  It’s the second time he has led the KHL in scoring, the first being 2018-19, the year before he first came to the NHL.

While he has received an offer to remain with Dynamo Moscow or to join other KHL franchises, it’s telling that Gusev remains unsigned; this report that he’s seeking another NHL opportunity would certainly explain why he hasn’t put pen to paper on a new deal yet.

Considering how his time in the NHL ended a few years ago and the fact that a lot of teams have done their heavy lifting roster-wise this summer, it stands to reason that Gusev won’t be able to command a $4.5MM AAV as he did last time.  However, if a team is looking to add some offensive creativity to their roster and Gusev’s asking price is more affordable, he could be a particularly intriguing pickup for someone in the coming days and weeks.

18 NHL Prospects Selected At CHL Import Draft

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In the days following the NHL draft, the CHL has its annual Import Draft where its 60 teams can select up to two international players, depending on how many returning international players they have.  This year’s draft was held on Wednesday, with a total of 18 players that were picked at last week’s NHL draft getting selected.  They are as follows, listed by the order of their selection with their NHL draft slot in parentheses:

Matvei Gridin (Val-d’Or, QMJHL), Calgary (Round 1/28th Overall)
Ilya Protas (Windsor, OHL), Washington (3/75)
Gabriel Eliasson (Niagara, OHL), Ottawa (2/39)
Miroslav Holinka (Edmonton, WHL), Toronto (5/151)
Emil Hemming (Barrie, OHL), Dallas (1/29)
Mikus Vecvanags (Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL), Montreal (5/134)
Markus Loponen (Victoria, WHL), Winnipeg (5/155)
Basile Sansonnens (Rimouski, QMJHL), Vancouver Canucks (7/221)
Loke Johansson (Moncton, QMJHL), Boston (6/186)
Kasper Pikkarainen (Red Deer, WHL), New Jersey (3/85)
Niilopekka Muhonen (Medicine Hat, WHL), Dallas (5/158)
Igor Chernyshov (Saginaw, OHL), San Jose (2/33)
Petr Sikora (Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL), Washington Capitals (6/178)
Sebastian Soini (Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL), Minnesota Wild (5/140)
Aron Kiviharju (Moncton, QMJHL), Minnesota Wild (4/122)
Ondrej Kos (Kitchener, OHL), St. Louis Blues (3/81)
Veeti Vaisanen (Medicine Hat, WHL), Utah (3/96)
Lucas Pettersson (Saginaw, OHL), Anaheim (2/35)

Not all of these players will go to their new teams right away; some won’t at all and others might come next season or later depending on their contractual situation at that time.  However, these players will now have another possible place to play and in several of those situations, the NHL team who drafted the player will likely try to steer them to play in the CHL where they can get into more games while making it easier for development coaches and scouts to check in on them.

Of the 64 non-NHL draftees selected, several of them should become viable prospects for the 2025 draft.  A total of ten players picked in last year’s Import Draft were picked by NHL teams last weekend.  Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov, and Nikolaj Ehlers are among the notable NHL players who were picked in this draft and then came to play major junior in North America.

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